Live Asian carp discovered near Lake Michigan

A live Asian carp has been discovered in a Chicago waterway about nine miles from Lake Michigan.

Author:
Associated Press , WZZM

Published:
11:09 AM EDT June 23, 2017

Updated:
11:09 AM EDT June 23, 2017

A live Asian carp has been discovered in a Chicago waterway about nine miles from Lake Michigan.

Federal and state officials tell The Associated Press a commercial fisherman netted the silver carp below the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam.

The fish was 28 inches long and weighed about 8 pounds.

Silver carp are among four Asian carp species threatening to invade the Great Lakes, where scientists say they could compete with native species and devastate the region's $7 billion fishing industry.

This is the second time a live Asian carp has turned up beyond an electric barrier network 37 miles southwest of the city that's designed to keep the invasive fish from reaching the lakes. A bighead carp was found in Chicago's Lake Calumet in 2010.